To Cheat Death
by AriaStark
Summary: SPOILERS! Breathing hard, Spock stares down at Khan. Unconscious, the terrorist no longer is the one man army out for vengeance. He seems to be a man at peace. Innocent even. But that does nothing to subside the rage burning inside Spock bought by Khan's mere presence.


I DO NOT OWN STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

I'm only unleashing my imagination.

Chapter 1

Breathing hard, Spock stares down at Khan. Unconscious, the terrorist no longer is the one man army out for vengeance. With his facial muscles relaxed, he seems to be a man at peace. Innocent even. But that does nothing to subside the rage burning inside Spock bought by Khan's mere presence. Rage, that Spock is not unfamiliar with, yet it had threatened to destroy him had he not taken it all out. He acknowledges Jim's actions on Kronos now. Closing his eyes, he tries to even his breath.

_Jim._

_Hope. There is still hope._

Though the usually dominating Vulcan presence in his mind yells at how illogical it is to feel such strong uncontrolled emotions, Spock is surprised at how human that thought was.

"_I'm talking to the half-human part."_

"Spock!" Uhura calls out over the howling wind.

Meeting her concerned gaze, Spock feels raw and exposed after his emotional explosion, so he looks away and responds only with a nod.

"They can't beam us up, there's too much activity here."

"The transporter will stop in less than 10 seconds which will reduce the activity significantly and allow us to beam abroad the ship" Spock says, sounding almost like his usual self.

Regaining their balance after almost being thrown off the transporter due to its sudden deceleration and parabolic stop, Spock becomes aware of his multiple physical injuries and leeching exhaustion. The bubbling headache, which he no longer can choose to ignore, reminds him of Khan's failed attempt at crushing his skull with his bare hands. He can almost feel dents on his head.

_Minor skull fracture _

"Uhura to Enterprise, we are ready to be beamed up"

"Good. I'm locking on your signal, stay right where you are. We'll beam you directly to the med-bay" Sulu replies. From their current position, the only thing betraying that a Starship had fall from space, is the thickening black cloud of smoke hanging over the buildings.

_Considering evacuated citizens, estimated loss of life: 257,000_

Spock thinks grimly before he sees the familiar beams of energy surrounding them and a moment later, he finds himself still on his knees beside Khan, on the polished floor of the Enterprise med-bay. Dr. McCoy is already beside him taking Khan's blood and barking orders.

"Sedate this bastard with the strongest dose of M-65 and keep him sedated every 20 minutes!" Before Spock has time to react, a nurse jabs him with a hypo to the right side of his neck and a cool sensation starts to spread under his skin.

"Sir, you have a fracture on the right side of your skull." The human nurse says, scanning his head. "Minor, nothing to worry about, especially with that thick head of yours and the dose I gave you…..I mean, Vulcan's have thicker skull than.." The nurse rectifies red faced. "You also have 3 cracked ribs, an internal bleeding in…" The nurse goes on about all the gruesome injuries Spock had sustained; occasionally jabbing with a hypo, but Spock is already feeling better. The then throbbing pain is now only a tingle and the cool sensation which had spread throughout his head, relaxes his mind.

Spock thanks the nurse sincerely.

A tremor runs through his body as the Enterprise shudders under his feet.

"_How's the ship?"_

Ignoring the discomfort of his cracked ribs, Spock stands up. He looks for the doctor but he is no where to be found, so he heads for the bridge, joined by Uhura in the lift.

Alone at last, she cautiously hugs him, keeping his injuries in mind.

"He's going to be okay." She breaths on his shoulder, reassuring both of them. Relishing in their physical communication, Spock hugs her back. They kiss softly before the elevator door swish opens, revealing a rather quite bridge. Stepping in, Spock is met with the undivided attention of the crew. He only raises his left eyebrow in confusion.

"Is the captain going to be alright?" Sulu asks, speaking for everyone.

"Dr. McCoy is doing everything within his capabilities at the moment. With his qualification, it would be safe to have faith in the captain's return. Also our captain is recalcitrant. Normal rules do not apply to him." Spock says with a hint of a smile. Whatever tension that remained, dissipates as his crew members break into grins .

"Contact Starfleet for immediate medical and docking assistance"

Still smiling, Lt. Uhura takes her chair with habitual professionalism and complies.

"Aye Commander. Transmission sent. Um Admiral Hayes is contacting us."

"On screen please."

"Kirk! What the …." The Admiral stops when she realises that she isn't talking to the young captain of the Enterprise.

"The _Captain _is currently is med-bay, suffering from a major radiation poisoning after successfully realigning the damaged wrap-core, hence saving everybody onboard. Any accusations against the captain would not be justified and unacceptable." Spock replies calmly. The respect and pride, though subtle, is evident. The Admirals dark eyes go wide but he Spock continues.

"Our ship has been heavily damaged. As Acting- Captain, I request medical support and docking assistance."

"Yes we received your transmission, they're on their way." Inhaling deeply, the Admiral bursts "Commander half of San-Francisco with our Starfleet base is buried under that ship. The death toll is unimaginable. Earth's defences recognised 2 Starfleet ships, which means that our sensors were overridden. This whole attack was planned!"

"Your deductions would seem correct Admiral, but USS Vengeance is from Starfleet."

Please forgive any mistakes I've made. I havn't seen the previous star trek series.

Do review.


End file.
